KOBE
Akashi
A presentation of business models utilizing IT technology was held on July 8 at Kobe Women’s University’s Port Island Campus (4 Minatojima-nakamachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe City).
Students seeking advice from a small- and medium-sized enterprise diagnostician
Eleven groups of 62 second-year university students taking the liberal arts course “IT Business: Liberal Arts Exercise 2” in the Faculty of Psychology at Kobe Women’s University, which opened in 2022, proposed business models that utilize IT technology.
The university, which features a cross-disciplinary curriculum that teaches media psychology, management, and consumer psychology, also focuses on IT education, and invited a local small- and medium-sized enterprise diagnostician as a lecturer for this project. Proposals were made using IT technologies such as apps and AI, and included unique ideas such as the “Forgotten Shogun,” an app that helps people who tend to forget things feel more secure.
Four small and medium-sized enterprise diagnosticians who belong to “ShobaiLab.,” an independent research group of the Hyogo Association of Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Diagnosticians, served as lecturers on the day and offered advice to the students on how to brush up their ideas, including how to differentiate them from existing services. Masumi Kawasaki, a member of the ShobaiLab, recalls, “It was refreshing to see how they grasped the needs that I wish existed. Kenji Shinkawa, a member of the same group, said, “They understood what can be done with IT technology and thought about monetization.
Yusuke Yoshikawa, an assistant professor at the university in charge of the “IT Business” lecture, said, “We live in an age where input can be obtained at any time via YouTube and other media, but output is important. The opportunity to get immediate feedback from experts is a valuable experience for students. I hope that they will make use of the senses they have now in society.
MeIN
Gooall
shAop
Global